Japanese history through pictures

Tourism & Culture: Japan Theather

2008-04-07T23:53:00.003-04:00

Nice 6 & 1/2 minute introductory video on the performing art of 'Noh'. Found this one upped by Mike1982s on Youtube.com

Asian History: Burmese Perspective on Imperial Japan

2007-05-16T13:55:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting 10 minute video that, to me, appears to be a Japanese Documentary about Aung San from Burma, Chandra Bose from India, and their contribution to Asian Independence.

World History: Japan's proposal Abolition of Global Racism-Video

2007-04-07T16:39:00.001-04:00

8:49

"A Lesson in Japanese American History: The Japanese American Experience" Video

2007-02-11T02:30:00.000-05:00

A terrific set of videos upped by user kamisugi on Youtube. These are reported to come from a curriculum and resource CD produced by the Japanese American Citizens League. Enjoy.

We Came To Grow

Tuke Lake

Tanforan

Starting Over

Piercing Moment

Heart Mountain

Japanese History Through it's Clothes-Video

2007-01-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

I nice video showing the different types of clothing worn by males, females, peasants, and dignitaries throughout the history of Japan.

Kinkakuji temple, Kyoto-Video

2007-01-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

I nice little 5 min. video tour of Kinkakuji temple in Kyoto, with a little history.

Mongols Invasion of Japan Video

2006-11-03T02:02:00.000-05:00

This is an entertaining 25 minute lesson from a student who uploaded this video to youtube. I think he did a great job. It seems like it took a lot of time and work to gather the pictures, maps, and other material, and put it all together. The opening words are hard to read, but he mentions that readability was lost when converting the video file.

Please come to Kyoto in Japan parts 1 and 2 video

2006-10-05T23:32:00.000-04:00

Part 1

Part 2

I haven't had time to watch all of it, but Chieko gives some nice little history tidbits as she shows her guests around Kyoto.

It's so refreshing to have found some pleasant videos about Japan. To tell the truth, I was getting a little sick of finding nothing but war footage. It's just too bleak. So Kudos to all the people on youtube who uploaded some terrific Historical videos of Japan.

"Old Japan" Video

2006-09-20T03:55:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't know why the person disabled embedding but you can click the video to go to youtube and watch it. This is a great prewar video of Japan. Not only is it ten minutes long, but it's in color. It's very thorough showing many aspects of life right before the war.

I only wish(like some of the other videos I've found) that someone would translate this and add subtitles.

Hamlet Site, Noto Peninsula Japan Video

2006-09-18T00:26:00.000-04:00

*Text from uploader
Yoshisaki Suba Yayoi Park, 100AD-200AD, The site yielded wooden farming implements, stone implements and other artifacts such as a mirror and kinds of jewelry. The Yayoi period is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 BC to 250 AD. Noto is located at the north west of Honshu facing the Sea of Japan.

This is what I'm talking about. This is a cool little video. It would be awesome to see the person who made this flesh it out, add a little structure to it, and make it more of an academic video. This would make a great history lesson. It could be used in thematic teaching as a centerpiece. Watch the video, and then embark on using maps of the area, explore how the people communicated back then. Just making or learning how to read maps could employ math, and you're already learning history. Add in things like language/communication, writing about what the students(or anyone) learns. I would so love to see people doing this stuff.

藤岡・上杉管領祭2001　fujioka2001 samurai battle reenactment video

2006-08-23T16:35:00.000-04:00

Got this one from youtube. There's not like an entire public library full of videos on Japanese history out there, but...I think it'd be great if there was an OpenSource, free resource that would either house or host these videos. They are incredibly educational, and(I believe) having a "one-stop shop" would really encourage, and promote more. Like Dade's excellent video on the Japanese-Russo war, the possibilities of having many more people making educational videos could really add to the academic world.

I think the educational benefits can already be seen, but there are others. I am only making guesses as to what Dade did, and am trying to figure out how others may go about this.

If teachers, professors, and others in academia just put a small amount of time, energy, and money into making videos similar to Dade, we would have an vast, and powerfull educational resource. Also something that is needed. Because not only is Dade's video fun, it teaches some details about history that usually are not taught in the classroom. Plus, and I'm not sure here, but teachers who made these videos wouldn't have to spend too much money and I think it would work as a tax write-off(sp?).

So I say again. Think of it. An entire library of thousands of videos(like Dade's) all in one location to easily access, teaching parts of history that haven't been covered yet, made cheaply and efficiently by educators(who could benefit from a tax write-off), and are fun to watch.

I am very interested in history, and Japanese history specifically. I am going to look into different small design and video companies and try to put together a budget(and maybe as Dade) to get an idea of how a small video like Dade's would be made and for how much.

Anyway, on to the new video. It's a reenactment video. Not very instructional but fun to watch. The first two-and-a-half minutes look like practice, then there's a full fledged battle/show with lights and sound.

"Dawn of the 20th century" (Japanese-Russo War / Bloody Sunday) video

2006-07-30T22:17:00.000-04:00

This is another video about the Japanese-Russo war. I actually found it by following Dade's favorites on youtube(the guy who made the CG animated short).

And if you're wondering:I know it's been a long time coming since my last post, but it's not because I'm getting lazy. It's getting harder to find videos. So if you haven't seen a post from me in a long while, don't fret. I am still updating this site.

"Russo-Japanese war" tutorial video

2006-06-20T05:07:00.000-04:00

I found this great computer animated, narrated video on youtube. This is basically a history lesson, but an enjoyable one.
I hope this guy makes more.

As for the summer movies...well I was doing well with it, but now it's not looking so hot. So I decided to scrap the idea.

Summer movie #1: "Shinobi:Heart Under Blade" video

2006-06-08T16:45:00.000-04:00

Hmmm...seems the movie is no longer available on youtube. Doesn't really suprise me. Well, I will find another within a couple days.

Old unkown movie clips video

2006-06-07T00:25:00.000-04:00

I found these on youtube.com. I have absolutely no idea what movie(s) these clips come from, or the date. They do give me an idea though. I think I'll do a long summer movie-thon and post some old full-length movies from Japan. Actually it'd be alot of fun to watch some I haven't seen yet, and do a commetary podcast to go along with each movie. I still might do in-between stuff(post pics and other small historical clips). Let's do four movies a month. I know it's already June 6th, but I'll hurry up and post the first of four movies for June.

"Japanese Relocation" video

2006-05-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

Most of us know and some of us still remember the mass relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps within the interior of the United States. This appoximately 10 minute long video was created by the United States to explain to the public the importance and need for the relocation of these citizens. I personally don't agree with this sterilized, family-friendly explanation. This uprooting of people ruined many lives and not just during the war. Many of the peoples futures were changed, and they had to start life over. They lost all their personal belongings, and any wealth they had accumulated. They lost unreplacable family heirlooms to looters who took advantage of their relocation, and most never had jobs to go back to. I couldn't imagine losing everything except the clothes on my back and having to start life over again. Granted it wasn't like that for every citizen, but I think in the long run, it caused more bad than good.
There's an interesting little book about a woman who lived in one of the camps when she was a little girl. "Farewell to Manzanar" chronicles the life of the little girls family, when they were uprooted from the West Coast and taken to Manzanar internment camp. The reading is a little dry, but it is interesting, and it's so short that it isn't painfull or anything. It's definately worth reading.
If any of you have any personal knowledge, or information that you would like to share--maybe you were a part of the relocation, or maybe you had family that was part of it- please share your story with us. I am creating the first podcast soon, and it would be great to have an audio story describing life at the camps or what the relocation meant to you.
Also, I encourage everyone to write, phone, email in on your opinions, feelings, and what you think happened in general.

"Samurai" mini-doc history channel video

2006-05-23T07:16:00.000-04:00

Here's a 10 minute short documentary the History Channel did on samurai. There's alot of footage from the movie "The Last Samurai" starring Tom Cruise. I'm assuming this show aired around the premiere of the movie.

Model of Nikolai Temple

2006-05-17T07:47:00.000-04:00

A model of the Nikolai Temple in the Kanda district of the 1880's, at Edo Museum, Ryogoku.

I found this while browsing through the stock photography at Lonely Planet Images. I'll be sure to post more photos as I find them.

I found a encyclopedia entry online of Nikolai of Japan. I'll just post the first few sentences. You can read the rest at the site.

Saint Nikolai of Japan, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (Nikolai Kasatkin (born Ivan Dimitrovich Kasatkin August 1 of Julian calendar[Click link for more facts about this topic]/ August 13 of Gregorian calendar[For more info, click on this link], EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (1836 ; died February 16, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (1912) was a Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodox Church quick summary:
The russian orthodox church ( ...

The Secret Life Of Geisha- NBC video

2006-05-16T23:13:00.000-04:00

In December 2002, NBC played a spot featuring an interview with Mineko Iwasaki in relation to the Memoirs of a Geisha novel.

I thought this was really cool, when I found it. I just happen to be reading Mineko's book "Geisha, A Life". I'm about 3/4 of the way through and it is really interesting. She gives many details on day to day geisha life. At first it seems written very simply(which helps the facts stand out) but gives you a sense that she is not being totally truthfull. But, I think this is just because of it being translated into English.

"Children of Japan" 1941 video

2006-05-12T01:54:00.000-04:00

Small video describing daily life of family in Japan. I was glad I watched it, but it's a little on the dry side, similar to old educational films they used to play in American public schools.

"My Japan" anti-japanese propaganda video

2006-05-09T03:48:00.000-04:00

*WARNING* About 10 minutes into the film there are some quick violent and disturbing images. Viewer discretion is advised.

Here's an anti-japanese propaganda video by The War Finance Division of the U.S. Treasury Department. This was made by the United States in 1945. What I find disturbing about this(besides the obvious) is that it was put forth during the year Japan surrendered. I'm assuming it was actually before they surrendered. Maybe you know, was this aired after or before the surrender?

You know, it sure is something to think about what all the soldiers and officials were thinking when they entered Japan during the occupation. I know war is war but it makes me sick to think of the hatred these people harbored while trolling around the streets of Kyoto. Situations like that are sometimes worse than 2 drunk people, who hate each other, bumping shoulders in a bar. There was a lot of violence that took place, and It just makes me cringe. The single most disturbing thing to me is the violence against women. I don't like to think it, but you know there had to be a lot of american soldiers abusing Japanese women. What do you think? Any of you have any personal feelings, one way or the other, on the issue?

Like many things in life, you have to look to find the good in the world, and this video also has some good. Much of the footage taken in this video can't be found elsewhere. Boats floating down the river, people working in rice fields, and many scenic shots make this a video worth looking at.

Tokyo Map 1898

2006-05-08T00:29:00.000-04:00

This map of Tokyo was taken from Old Tokyo. This is another photo site(I'll be posting these alot--as I find them). It's interesting that this site has many "hand-tinted" photos. Hand-tinting makes photos look funny, to me. It is kinda cool because it adds color to the old b/w photographs but it gives them a 2d "fake" appearance. Almost as if it really isn't a photo but a painting. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, take a look at the photo on the right. I say it kinda looks like old, color newspaper comic strips.

The first one I chose because the background is the original b/w while elements of the foreground have been colorized(or Hand-tinted). This next photo(located bottom-left) ,I believe, illustrates this comic-strip look much more.

I think it's interesting how photos are colorized. I used to mess around on photoshop. I'd use old b/w photographs of when my mother was little. I was always proud of the job I did. These hand-tinted look like an older technique. My guess is these were colorized way before photoshop. I'd look up the info, but I only have so much time in the day, and I've got things I already want to get done. So maybe some of you out there, that no the process for hand-tinting, would like to leave a voicemail and then I can play it on an upcoming podcast.

Map of Japan, John Bartholomew, 1862

2006-05-07T12:06:00.000-04:00

Interested in buying this map? Well, whether or not we end up buying them, many of us love maps--especially old maps. Once I started looking for old Japanese maps, I immediately discovered a small gold mine in Japanese Historical Maps: East Asian Library-University of California, Berkeley I hadn't realized there was so many maps of Japan still around--and so old. This site is definately worth checking out.

映像の世紀第11集 JAPAN part３/３ (米軍占領～講和成立) video

2006-05-06T01:20:00.000-04:00

Part 3 of 3. A lot more color video as this shorter and final segment runs from 1945-1953. Footage of American occupation of Japan, and alot of social and political changes.

Once again...if there's any fan-subbers out there watching these?, please-please sub this series.

映像の世紀第11集 JAPAN part２/３ (昭和～終戦) video

2006-05-06T01:01:00.000-04:00

This is part 2 of 3 of the historical Japanese footage I found on youtube. The time frame for this goes from 1928-1945. As many of you can guess, there's lots of war footage(some stunning footage of planes being shot down close to the end of the video).

In it's own way, part 2 is especially exciting to watch. While the older footage, in part 1, is very special to watch, it is mainly silent footage with narration overlayed. Part 2, however, has much of it's footage with the audio included(plus there's still narration.

映像の世紀第11集 JAPAN part１/３ (明治～大正) video

2006-05-06T00:34:00.000-04:00

I've been posting so much on Japan and it's history, in my other blog(and NOT posting relevant stuff I should be) that I decided to start a new blog for all my Japan posts. This is a great place to visit if you love looking up clips of Japan and it's history. I'll occasionally post some podcasts giving my impressions and knowledge(or lack of) on Japan and it's history, culture, lifestyle, technology, etc...

But...let's get on to the first video. I found this terrific video on youtube. This is part 1 of 3. It shows footage from Japan dating all the way back to 1897(cool huh?). If I remember correctly the time frame goes from 1897-1923. Bad side to this great video is it's in Japanese with no subtitles. So if any of you great anime subbers would like to undertake this project, I think it would be a great contribution.